Bodkin / Patterns

Brent's Ostrich Herl Mayfly

Nymph · Trout · Advanced · 1 version

Tyer Recipe

  • Hook 2X-long continuous-curve nymph, 8
  • Thread olive dun 8/0

Materials

  • Mono eyes Olive, small (1 pair)
  • Ostrich herl (tail and body) Olive ostrich herl (3 barbules)
  • Perdigon body tinsel (rib) Iridescent blue perdigon body tinsel (1 length)
  • Pheasant aftershaft feather (thorax/legs) Olive pheasant tail fibers (1 feather)
  • Scud back, 1/8 inch (wing case) Olive thin skin mottled (1 strip)
  • Creepy Crawly Ice Dub (throat) Dark olive UV creepy crawly ice dub (tiny pinch)

How to tie it

  1. Start the olive dun thread and dress the entire shank of the curved hook.
  2. Tie in the small olive mono eyes just behind the hook eye with figure-eight wraps.
  3. At the bend, tie in three olive ostrich herls by their aligned tips to form a short three-point tail. Handle them gently, ostrich is fragile.
  4. Tie in the iridescent blue Perdigon tinsel for the rib.
  5. Wrap the three ostrich herls forward together as the body, up to behind the mono eyes; half hitch.
  6. Rib forward with firm, evenly spaced turns of the blue tinsel. Make it a prominent part of the pattern.
  7. Tie in the 1/8-inch strip of olive scud back behind the mono eyes for the wing case.
  8. Tie in the olive pheasant aftershaft feather and take a gentle turn or two behind the eyes so its soft fibers become the breathing legs.
  9. Pull the scud back over the thorax and between the eyes, fold and tie it down, trimming the tag into a small V; dub a tiny pinch of dark olive UV Ice Dub as a throat.
  10. Whip finish behind the hook eye and add head cement.

Tying videos

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